Imperial Throne

Chapter 103: The Undercurrent Has Yet to Surge

Akar, accompanied by a group of guards, began to move through the secret passage that led directly to the inn in Gem City.

Due to the packaging style and scale, Anna had previously made requests through Akar to Yam and Lily, so all these goods were packed identically. To avoid confusion, naturally, one side’s goods had to be fully transported first before starting on the other.

The goods Anna had Joshua purchase through Monica were mainly commodities transported to Red River City via the Red River Canal from other territories.

Though the Gem Territory was wealthy, there weren’t actually many rich people. After all, the

former Baron Hess was extremely exploitative. Therefore, the only one in Gem City truly qualified to purchase luxury goods was the Lord’s Manor. Hence, the goods Anna had Joshua bring in were not luxury items but rather more affordable products: for instance, decently crafted and reasonably priced trinkets and small ornaments.

In addition, there were seeds, alcoholic beverages, and other items with similarly good sales potential.

The purchasing cost of these goods was initially covered by Anna and would be directly deducted in another transaction.

It was conservatively estimated that if Ion and the others could actually sell off these goods, they could earn about four to five hundred gold coins. Even if they didn’t want to sell slowly on their own and instead chose to resell in bulk to Gem City’s guilds or other merchants, they could still make between one to three hundred gold coins.

Naturally, it couldn’t compare with the smuggling of Magical Beast Materials.

Moreover, the profit margin was very narrow, on the surface, this trip seemed quite lucrative, but one must not forget that Joshua obtained these goods through Monica at an internal price, under the Kasein Family’s name from a guild they had invested in. Additionally, there were no escort costs, which allowed such a high profit margin.

Normally, a merchant convoy running such a trip over several months would only make about one hundred gold coins at most, sometimes even less.

As the guards busied themselves, Ion walked over to Akar’s side. “Are you here alone?”

Akar understood what his father was asking and replied, “Anna is pregnant, so it’s not convenient for her to move about, and she also has things to handle right now... But she already said that once we finish things here, I’m to bring you to the reception room where she’ll be waiting for us.”

“She won’t be discovered by Joshua Kasein?” Ion asked.

“No.” Akar shook his head. “Anna gives him tea mixed with Calmative Agent every night, so he always sleeps straight through until the next morning. He has no idea what goes on at night.”

Ion cast a sharp gaze at Akar.

That single glance was enough to send a chill down Akar’s spine.

Ion slowly withdrew his gaze.

It was still only afternoon, with quite some time until nightfall, so Ion didn’t inquire further about the evening meeting. For Anna, a true Bloodline Noble, to be willing to spend time entertaining and meeting with him, was already a gesture of great respect, whether out of sincerity or social courtesy, it showed Ion the depth of Anna’s sincerity toward Akar.

He wasn’t afraid that his efforts would yield no returns, but he feared that Akar might remain foolish and oblivious.

So he casually changed the topic. “There’s someone watching outside the inn.”

“Watching?” Akar was taken aback. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.” Ion shook his head slightly. “As soon as I entered the inn, I was being watched... You’re practically a local of Gem City now. Shouldn’t you be more familiar with this than I am?”

“Could be someone from the Jackal Gang looking for prey,” Akar replied. “The biggest advantage of this inn is that it borders the slum district, so the terrain is extremely complex. Anna chose to establish an inn here precisely to integrate the entire underground passage network around the slum. Shunes and I fought many brutal battles here.”

“But dealing with these city rats isn’t part of my duties. I’ll ask Shunes about it later.”

Ion nodded noncommittally.

...

Meanwhile.

Inside the Lord’s Manor, Anna was receiving two guests.

Mokas, a Bloodline Knight who had served since the time of Baron Hess, following him through countless battles and earning his deep trust, was also the former Knight Commander of the Bole Family, now a position taken by Akar. Anna had even emulated the Kasein Family by setting up a secondary Knight Commander post, specifically to handle all military affairs when Akar was absent from the territory.

So this former Knight Commander, if not for his considerable strength and being one of only two Second-Tier Bloodline Users in the Gem Territory, would have already been eliminated by Anna.

Standing beside Mokas was a young man.

He wasn’t particularly handsome, and perhaps due to his long period of misfortune, he carried an indelible aura of timidity, despite his efforts to project a sense of spirit, the clearly forced pretense only made Anna feel more irritated.

Because in him, she saw a reflection of her own good-for-nothing, gluttonous and lazy second brother, Shuke.

“This is the descendant of that knight who once died in battle for the sake of the territory, as Knight Mokas mentioned?”

“Yes.” In response to Anna’s inquiry, Mokas bowed and replied earnestly, “His name is Azman, the second son of Berman, a knight who once swore fealty to the Bole Family. His eldest brother died in the Red Soil Territory conscription war, and his mother later succumbed to illness.”

However, Azman had not fallen into depravity because of this. On the contrary, he had continuously honed and improved himself. His strength was enough that even if he joined the Guard Corps, he could easily serve as a squad leader.

The guard unit in the Gem Territory, plainly speaking, was the Lord’s private army. Whether in the past or now, they were the best-treated among the commoners, because above them was the realm of Bloodline Users. To serve as a squad leader in the private guard force required outstanding personal bravery and combat skill.

In this regard, Mokas was not exaggerating.

Azman did possess some talent for combat. Otherwise, Hughes would not have considered him more promising than his elder brother, and even contemplated sponsoring him with a Bloodline Potion. Unfortunately, Hughes later died in the Withered Wood Forest, and that plan naturally came to nothing.

Anna understood Mokas’s implication: he wanted to secure a squad leader position in the guard unit for Azman.

But Anna did not intend to entertain this topic.

The current guard force was divided into two halves. One half was cultivated by Anna at great expense; like Shunes, they all had various personal ties and entanglements. Their interests were tightly bound to Anna’s. If anything happened to her, they too would be in trouble, so their loyalty was unquestionable.

The other half had been brought in by Akar, reportedly drawn from Fisher Village in the White Mountain Territory.

According to Akar, Fisher Village had now become an exclusive military source for the Baron of White Mountain Territory. This village had thrice served as a fief of the Soderbell Family and held a blind reverence for the family.

As long as Akar was present, their loyalty was equally unquestionable. Anna even considered that, if her relationship with Akar were to be made public, their loyalty might surpass even that of Shunes’s group.

Therefore, Mokas’s attempt to insert his own men into the guard was simply impossible.

“I still trust Knight Mokas’s judgment on this,” Anna said with a smile, casually steering the conversation elsewhere. “I heard from Knight Mokas that you’ve found the person who killed your father?”

“Y-yes!” Azman responded loudly, eager to make an impression.

His voice made Anna frown slightly, and her impression of him clearly dropped further. “So, you’re here to ask me to uphold justice for you?”

“Yes!” Azman nodded. “I have a witness! He recognized the man who killed my father!”

Anna turned to look at Mokas.

Mokas nodded and said in a low voice, “The witness is the leader of the Jackal Gang, Barney. He’s already waiting in the courtyard.”

Anna’s right hand lightly tapped the table. She glanced at Mokas and Azman, silently assessing Mokas’s intentions.

After a moment, she nodded slightly, signaling for Mokas to bring the man up.

Soon after,

A brawny man was brought into the room.

However, the moment he stepped into the reception room, Anna’s brows furrowed.

Although the man had clearly washed and changed into relatively tidy clothes, the stench on him was still clearly detectable to Anna.

“Speak,” Anna said coldly, her mood already souring.

Naturally, the main reason was that someone like Barney had no qualification to see her under normal circumstances.

He didn’t even deserve to be near the wealthy district. Anna knew very well what kind of filth made up the Jackal Gang and what role these sewer rats played in Gem City.

“Yes.” Barney was surprised to find Anna even more beautiful than the rumors suggested, and his desire surged rapidly. But he didn’t lose his reason, at least he remembered who he was. He quickly lowered his head and began, “I was once a member of the Iron Wolf Mercenary Group. I joined them because I had heard they were upright and just. But it turned out, they were nothing but a gang of bandits! I couldn’t stand that...”

“Get to the point,” Anna interrupted impatiently.

“Yes, yes.” Barney nodded repeatedly. “The previous Lord said I did a good deed by reporting those cunning bandits, but he wanted to eliminate them completely. So he told me to lead the knights up the mountain, and promised to reward me with a Bloodline Awakening Potion afterwards.”

Hearing this, Azman turned around in disbelief and glared angrily at Barney.

But Barney ignored him, his goal had already been achieved.

That goal was to use Azman as a stepping stone to secure a meeting with the Lord and try to obtain a Bloodline Awakening Potion.

“That operation to wipe out the bandits was going smoothly until one of the vice-captains escaped and killed Azman’s father, a knight!” Barney declared loudly.

“The Lord was furious and said that only after I found the man who killed his knight would I get the Bloodline Awakening Potion. I’ve been investigating this for years, and today...”

Barney suddenly lifted his head. “I finally found him!”

Anna, upon hearing Barney’s account, could already distinguish truth from falsehood.

Betraying his own mercenary group, that was true.

But the promise of a Bloodline Awakening Potion from her father was obviously false.

Anna knew exactly what kind of person her father, Hess Billy, was. During his rule, all Bloodline Knights serving the Billy Family were already awakened Bloodline Users. The family never sponsored the awakening of new Bloodline Users, least of all Hess Billy himself.

“Lady Anna, this vice-captain from the Iron Wolf Mercenary Group is extremely dangerous. He might be a disguised Forager.”

“If he is a Forager, then he’s certainly very dangerous,” Anna nodded. “So, where is this vice-captain now?”

Barney quickly gave the name and address of an inn.

Anna, without showing any emotion, asked another question: “What is this vice-captain’s name?”

“Ion. His name is Ion, my lady!” Barney said excitedly. “He’s disguised as the leader of a merchant caravan and brought many people into the city. I suspect he’s planning something harmful, not just to Gem City, but to the entire Gem Territory! Because Ion was close to both the leader and another vice-captain of the Iron Wolf Mercenary Group, he must have always resented the Gem Territory!”

As he finished, Barney suddenly remembered something and hurriedly added, “Oh! He also has three sons. But the eldest is already dead. The second is named Yam, and the third is Akar!”

Mokas’s pupils contracted violently, and his face showed sheer shock.

If it had just been someone named Ion, it could have been a coincidence.

There were hundreds of people in Gem City with that name.

But a man named Ion with two sons, one named Yam, the other Akar?

That made the matter gravely serious.

Mokas immediately turned to look at Anna, only to meet her cold and distant gaze.

“I know nothing, Lady Anna!” Without hesitation, Mokas dropped to one knee.